Chapter 185 – Greynif (1)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The day after he saw the magnificent spread of moonflowers together with Yutia.

“I will be going now, Teacher.”

“All right.
Travel safely.”

“Yes.
Then I will see you again next time.”

Even Yutia left the marquis’s estate.

The office was now unmistakably quieter than it had been yesterday.

…It feels almost like a holiday.

Memories from his old life surfaced.

His father and his eldest uncle, who would start fighting the instant they met because their political leanings were different.

The youngest, who would seize the eldest son’s computer and turn it into a paradise of viruses.

Even so, it had been fairly harmonious.

Every time they met, chaos broke loose, but once everyone scattered again, a kind of regret always remained.

“It definitely feels empty, Marquis.”

Evan seemed to feel the same way.
There was clear regret in his voice.

“Yes.
I suppose it does feel a little like that.”

“Right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, still, everyone has their own things to do.”

Alon nodded and swept his eyes across the office.

It really did feel somewhat empty.

“…From now on, if everyone happens to have time, it would not be a bad idea to gather like that regularly.”

Evan’s eyes widened slightly, then returned to normal.

“Hm.
Then let’s talk about that next time everyone meets.”

Alon gave a light nod.

“Then we should start preparing as well.”

“By preparing, you mean the elf village you mentioned before, right?”

“Yes.”

Evan hesitated with a low hum.

“I will make the preparations, but are you sure about this?
It feels awkward to say it, but that place honestly sounds dangerous.”

“Hm.”

The places Alon had visited until now had not exactly been safe either.

Still, he had not minded too much.

Because he had known the relevant information in advance.

But the elven land, Greynif?

Unfortunately, he possessed almost no information about it.

So little, in fact, that he had nothing from playing Psychedelia.

Everything he knew came only from the small amount of information he had learned after possessing this body.

Even that information was likely far from complete.

…He may be right.
This could be somewhat dangerous.

As a rule, having information or lacking it made a significant difference in danger level.

Even if one crawled into an extremely dangerous place.

If one possessed knowledge about it, then it was possible to avoid the danger and move carefully.

On the other hand, even a less dangerous place could kill you without warning if you did not know what to watch out for.

But even taking that into account.

It is still worth going once.

Whether he wanted it or not.

Alon had come to realize that he was entangled with Greynif through quite a number of secret matters.

“…For now, let us prepare.”

“You are not going to look into it any further before going?”

“At this point, I have already learned everything I can learn.”

“Fair enough.
That is true.”

Alon had also tried to gather information about Greynif in his own way.

The problem was simply this.

Even after spending a considerable amount of money investigating, he had gained nothing particularly useful.

If he sat here and kept searching, he would find nothing more.

“Before we cross into nonhuman territory, let us gather information one more time in a nearby territory or town.”

“There should be a territory called Nail.”

“Then we will ask there.”

That was how Alon settled the matter.

Some time later.

“Marquis.”

“Is the preparation finished?”

“No.
That is not it.
Do you happen to remember the Teal Forest Merchant Company?”

“…Ah.
That one?”

“Yes.
It looks like they just arrived.
Would it not be best to exchange a few words with them before leaving?”

Evan brought him new information.

After thinking for a moment, Alon nodded.

“Yes, let us do that.
The timing is early enough anyway, and this is our first transaction with them.”

“Understood.
Then I will bring them in.”

With permission granted, Evan turned and vanished at once.

A little later.

A man entered the office under Evan’s guidance.

“Greetings, Marquis Palladio.”

“You are…”

“My name is Recon.
Previously, I was standing behind the company head…”

“Ah.
I remember that.”

“That is an honor.”

Recon bowed deeply.

He was alone.

“But where is the company head?”

Alon’s question was natural.

Unless the company was enormous, the company head would normally move in person when meeting a noble.

“My apologies.
The company head was attacked by monsters and is currently receiving treatment, so he was unavoidably unable to come.”

“…I see.
Then do not concern yourself over what I said.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Recon bowed once more.

Soon afterward, they began talking business.

“…So the conditions will proceed exactly as we discussed before?”

“Yes.
There are no planned changes.”

The terms had been heavily favorable to Alon.

It almost made him wonder whether a merchant company that valued profit above all could really afford to do this.

But he did not ask.

Either way, he had absolutely nothing to lose in this transaction.

“Then let us proceed that way.”

“Yes.
Understood.”

The discussion moved forward smoothly.

And after the contract was finalized.

Alon found himself suddenly curious.

“By the way, in which region did you say the Teal Forest Merchant Company usually operates?”

“In the south.”

“Where, specifically, do you usually travel?”

“Hm.
Basically all over the southern region.
This time is a slight exception.
We came up north to expand our route.”

At that, Alon asked on a whim.

“Then let me ask just in case.
Do you know anything about Greynif?”

“Greyni…f, you say?”

Only moments earlier Recon had been smiling.

Now confusion spread across his face.

“Yes.
Though if it is difficult to speak about, there is no need to force it.
I only asked on the off chance.”

When Alon added that, Recon quickly schooled his expression.

“No, it is only… that I was rather surprised.
Normally people do not take any interest in Greynif.”

“That is true enough.”

“But why are you suddenly asking about Greynif…?”

Alon answered calmly.

“Because I have business there.”

“Business…?”

“Yes.”

“Then are you saying that you are coming to Greynif…
No, that you are going there?”

“That is right.
That is why I was curious.
Things I should watch out for, or how to reach it.”

At Alon’s words, Recon wore a blank expression for a moment.

Then he opened his mouth cautiously.

“…I do know a very little.”

“Then I would appreciate a hint.”

And an hour later.

After Recon left.

“Marquis, shall we set out now?”

“Yes.
I think we can do that.”

“Ah, and I looked into it.
Apparently in Nail there is a man who spent a very long time gathering herbs inside the forest that borders Greynif’s territory.
If we ask him, we should be able to get some information.”

Evan brought him good news.

But Alon shook his head.

“No.
That will not be necessary.”

“What?
Why?”

“Because I heard some fairly useful information.”

“Useful information…
Ah, from that merchant?”

“Yes.
He knew quite a lot.”

“…Really?”

Evan looked puzzled.

Alon himself felt similarly puzzled.

He had asked lightly because the man said they mainly traveled around the south.

And yet, what he heard had been far more detailed than expected.

Information that even looked quite credible.

…I never expected to hear even detailed instructions on how to enter Greynif.

He could not be certain it was the whole truth.

But from Recon’s point of view, there was no reason to invent information that did not exist.

And it had been so detailed and vivid that…

…Could he actually be an elf?

The thought brushed through Alon’s mind.

But he quickly shook his head.

There was simply no reason for an elf to hide his identity, come here, and trade with him.

“In any case, let us depart.”

“Understood.”

As Alon left for Greynif together with Evan.

Recon, or rather Perion, could not hide his confusion.

The reason was obvious.

Marquis Palladio.

The first elf is coming to Greynif?
Why?
No, before that, did he discover who I am?
That should not be possible…

Thoughts tangled in every direction at once.

Trying to calm himself, Perion began listing each point he could not understand.

Lady Filde definitely said that the first elf would not come to Greynif because he held something in his possession…

No, before that, why did he ask me how to get to Greynif?
Surely there is no way he would not already know…

Did he say it that way to avoid involving me at all?
Wait.
If so, did he discover my identity too?

No.
That cannot be.
Last time I only disguised myself with mana, so it made sense if I was seen through.
This time I used an elven heirloom for the disguise.
Even then, neither the queen nor I was discovered.

Or…
Did he simply pretend not to know?

Unfortunately for him, every time he followed one line of thought, another attached itself to it.

Unable to sort his thoughts out properly, Perion finally reached one conclusion.

I must report this to the queen…!
And I must do it before the first elf arrives!

Before the first elf entered Greynif.

He had to report this fact to the queen.

Perion ran off immediately.

####

Alexion the Evaluator.

“Mmm…”

No.
Now he was the owner of the enormous auction house belonging to House Palladio.

And these days, he was living a very happy life.

Because he was taking kickbacks from nobles?

Of course not.

The moment he did, Radan, or that blonde-haired girl under him, would appear like a ghost and confiscate the money.

Because of that, Alexion had long since given up on that route.

And yet the reason Alexion was still able to live happily.

Was the money that came rolling in even without him taking bribes.

Yes.
Money.

Alexion’s happiness came solely from money.

When he worked in the Laxas slums, money made him happy.

Even when he had nothing in particular to spend it on, earning money made him happy.

He was simply happy if he had money.

For him, money was happiness.

And to a man like that.

“Hehehe…”

The auction house operated by House Palladio was bringing in enough money to make his grin reach all the way to the ceiling.

Of course, more than a certain portion of the profits kept being invested back into the auction house or sent off to House Palladio.

But that was fine.

Even after sending all that away, the money left over.

Was far beyond what he had once earned by working himself half to death in the slums.

So of course he could not help laughing…

“Oh.
Good to see you.”

“…Lord Radan?”

Until a sudden demon appeared.

Alexion barely swallowed a hiccup.

“I thought…
I thought you left yesterday…”

“Ah, I did.
But there was something big brother asked me to take care of before I went, and I just forgot and left anyway.”

“Haha…
I see.”

“So, are you still taking kickbacks these days?”

Not even a full second passed.

Alexion shook his head more than five times and cried out in panic.

“Of course not!
I have not taken a single kickback since then.
Not one.”

“Really?”

“I swear it to the heavens.”

Alexion wore a thoroughly honest expression.

“Oh.”

Radan smirked as if he were seeing him in a new light and casually thumped Alexion’s shoulder.

“If that’s true, then you should be trustworthy enough.”

“Of course I am trustworthy…”

“Then you can manage big brother’s territory as acting lord for a while.”

“…Pardon?”

Radan gave his special order.

“Did you not hear me?”

“No, no, no!
I heard you, I heard you, but…”

He had heard it perfectly clearly.

How could he not?

What Radan had just said.

Was, in effect, the sound of the end of Alexion’s happy life.

“B-By acting lord…
You mean that acting lord?”

“Exactly.
It isn’t a big deal.
Just process the paperwork.
Summarize the important parts.”

A tremendous crisis.

Alexion’s eyes darted around wildly.

Acting lord.

The words alone carried an excellent ring.

And in truth it was a pretty good position.

If he became acting lord, then while the real lord was absent.

He could rule like a king and skim delicious little kickbacks off the top.

But that only worked.

When the territory in question was a weak one.

If the territory was House Palladio?

I am finished…

There was not a single privilege of acting lord he would actually be allowed to enjoy.

If he took kickbacks, Radan would come to kill him.

If he abused his power, Radan would come.

If he played tricks, Radan would come.

Everything was Radan, Radan, Radan…

And even if Radan did not come.

That blonde-haired girl would.

Ugh…

The thought alone was horrifying.

In other words, becoming the acting lord of House Palladio meant:

All responsibility and none of the pleasure.

And on top of that, a murderous workload far beyond the one he had now.

That was not all.

One wrong step and his head might go flying clean off.

That was why.

“W-Well, so, if it’s me…
That kind of thing is a little…”

“You can do it, right?”

“This acting-lord business isn’t really the sort of thing you can just decide however you feel…”

“You can do it, right?”

“Lord Radan?
As you know, I am a man who crawled around in the slums and lived a completely rotten life…”

“You. Can. Do it, right?”

Hic.

This time he failed to suppress the hiccup.

Because Radan’s smiling face.

Was saying it perfectly clearly.

You know very well how much I hate repeating myself, don’t you?

Radan’s finger twitched as if it might cut his head off at any moment.

So in the end.

“…I will try it.”

“Really?
Good choice.”

Alexion nodded.

You miserable son of a bitch…

The curse rose in his heart together with a sob.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“You just cursed at me, didn’t you?”

“N-No?
I did not.”

“…Really?
I had that sort of feeling.
Fine.”

“…”

And just like that, the curse died quietly without ever even managing to ring out.

…It was late summer.